Baseball teams are often close. The players either play or practice seven days a week, being basically forced to get along, spending almost all of their free time together.

Lehman takes that to the next level.

The Tigers are teammates on the field and friends off of it. Star first baseman/left-hander Tyler Gurman, for example, routinely hosts 12 of his closest friends at his house nearby school. His father, Wayne, doesn’t mind, although they sometimes leave a mess.

“We have a lot of cooking to do or a lot of money to spend ordering out,” he said.

Gurman thinks Lehman’s bond will transfer onto the field. The Tigers have enjoyed a solid preseason, reaching the finals of the prestigious James Monroe Tournament, on the strength of strong starting pitching from ace Laurence Marsach, Gurman and soft-tossing southpaw Dymin Morillo.

“We don’t have the kids that blow [people away], but they get people off stride,” Lehman coach Adam Droz said.

The Tigers are united not only because they all get along with one another, but after the way last season ended. Lehman played eventual runner-up James Monroe to the final out in the second round of the PSAL Class A playoffs. Trailing by two runs with the bases loaded and no outs in the seventh inning, they mustered just one run.

“Constantly, all the time [we talk about it],” said Marsach, who went 3-3 with a 1.51 ERA last year. “It was a big game, big moment, big situation, do or die.”

Lehman, however, is back from the dead, with a similar lineup. Gurman returns at first, junior Andy Ramos, who hit .550 with 15 RBIs last spring, is splitting time at the hot corner and behind the plate, and Jhosse Estrella is at shortstop. The biggest addition is Jonathan Pagan, who is up from the JV, where he scored 21 runs and stole 16 bases.

“I like his speed, he’s great on the basepaths, has great pop with the bat. It’s a big plus to have him,” Droz said. He later added: “I like that their focus is getting a lot better and I like that they understand their ability. They know every single time they go out there they got to work hard.”

The team’s chemistry, Gurman said, is why he thinks this can be a special year. Friendships off the field translate into production on it, he said. When someone makes an error or strikes out, they are encouraged, not ridiculed.

Said Droz: “That’s a big thing.”

“With every team, guys are close, but this team we love to mess around, joke and we know when to focus,” Gurman said. “I don’t know if it’s me being a senior, but I feel something magical is gonna happen this year.”